We use cookies to help us improve the website and your experience using it.
You may delete and block all cookies from this site at any time. However,
please note this may result in parts of the site no longer working correctly.
If you continue without changing your settings we will assume you are happy to receive all cookies on this site.

Enhanced Recovery Programme

What is an Enhanced Recovery Programme?

Enhanced recovery is a modern, evidence based approach that
helps patients who are undergoing surgery to recover more quickly.
Different members of the hospital and primary care team work
together in order to ensure patients are:

as healthy as possible before receiving treatment

receive the best possible care during their operation

receive the best possible care while recovering

How does it work?

We are committed to managing your care based on your individual
needs during and after your operation. We aim to:

We recognise that leaving hospital after an operation can be
daunting after having 24 hour support from qualified staff.
We therefore offer a telephone follow up service where you can
discuss any worries or concerns with a specialist nurse following
your discharge from hospital.

We want you to play an active role in your recovery and we aim
to do this by giving open and honest communication regarding your
condition, treatment and hospital stay and by providing you with
information on how you can best prepare.

Some of the things you can do in the run up to your operation
include:

Eating well - This will fuel your body in preparation for
repair.

Exercising - Keeping active will help to speed up your
recovery.

Giving up smoking - Going smokefree speeds up the healing
process and reduces your risk of complications such as chest
infections following surgery.

To find out more about the enhanced recovery programmes we
provide for individual surgical specialties, please select from the
links below:

Useful Information

Patient Experience

Patients are encouraged to give honest feedback about the care
they receive so that we can recognise areas of excellence and
identify any areas where improvements could be made. We have
a paper questionnaire that you may be asked to fill in, as well as
a hand held tablet device which you may be given in the ward area
or by your specialist nurse in clinic.

Following the first year of the colorectal Enhanced Recovery
(ER) pathway being introduced in May 2011, a number of patients
filled out their questionnaires to tell us what they though about
the care they received. This report was published in the
Nursing Times in June 2013, which demonstrates the national
interest and impact that patient opinions can have on practice.